An international team of researchers including Dr Michael Bunce from Murdoch University has published a report in the journal Science showing ancient DNA from ice cores can yield valuable information about past environments.

DNA from deep ice cores under the Greenland icecap, dating back more than 450,000 years, revealed Greenland – now lying below kilometres of thick ice – was once inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects.

Dr Bunce, who lectures in molecular biology and biotechnology at Murdoch University, said low temperatures below the ice meant the DNA has been well preserved – and is some of the oldest DNA to be isolated to date.

“The research is fascinating as it demonstrates that preserved DNA from plants, animals, insects and bacteria that died hundreds of thousands of years ago can aid in our understanding of how the earth’s environment has changed over time,” Dr Bunce said.

The team identified and dated genetic sequences from coniferous trees, butterflies, beetles and a variety of other boreal forest plants.

“These were traces of ancient forests which could have covered southern Greenland perhaps as far back as 800,000 years ago,” Dr Bunce said.

Project leader, University of Copenhagen Professor Eske Willerslev, said more drilling was planned to expand the study.

“Excitingly, ice cores at even lower temperatures, like Antarctica, may contain an archive of genetic data of even greater antiquity,” Professor Willerslev said.